Unpaid library fines have rocketed to more than £77,000 across Camden – just £10,000 short of what it costs to run one community library for a year.

A Freedom of Information request from the Ham&High found that overdue charges at all 10 Camden Council-run libraries have reached £77,114 in the last two years.

In comparison, the cost to community campaigners of running Keats Community Library in Hampstead for the year is £87,000, which includes a licence fee for renting the building from the City of London, new book purchases and some staffing costs.

Camden announced plans to close three of its libraries in 2011 following cuts to local authority budgets.

Three libraries – then called Heath Library, Belsize Library and Chalk Farm Library – were all handed over to voluntary groups to run in April 2012.

A breakdown of the overdue fines shows the highest overdue charges were at Swiss Cottage Library, where £18,955 is currently owed in unpaid fines.

The total number of overdue books at the top five issuing libraries between July 2011 and March 2013 was 4,484.

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